Halleluiah!

                The Christus Choir at Concordia University has been known for their remarkable singing ability, unison skills, and leadership under Dr. David Mennicke. This May, the singing group is taking a trip to South Korea to tour, perform, and of course site-see and get a feel for the culture and music of the country. In order to raise money for the adventure the choir has been doing tours, concerts, and pieces at churches all over the Midwest for the extent of the school year. The most recent would be a tour spanning across Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota this past Easter break for Holy Week. This past Friday, the Christus Choir performed at their home chapel on campus for family and friends. They sang the same set of songs that they're planning on performing in Korea. The theme and structure of the concert revolved around the University's theme of the year "We Are God's People". The groupings of songs and sections of the performance were split into three parts. The first focusing on the "We" part of the theme, second on "Are God's" and thirdly on "People". Under the direction of Dr. Mennicke, the group executed an impressive cohesion of melody, moving everybody in the audience.

                As this concert was beautiful to everyone's ears, it is also beautiful to everyone's hearts. After one absorbs what's being heard and starts to analyze the content, one becomes to realize what the Christus Choir is all about. The selection of songs portrays "We are God's People" wonderfully. Each piece tells a story, describes a feeling, or in some way involves the connection people have with God. And through this message, the choir is spreading God's word and his work in the world not only to surrounding churches in the Midwest but soon to be across the world in Korea. This is a very elegant way to give service to God. Like all who participate in Christus Choir, one who has a passion for music could very well use this to pursue God in their vocation. Music tends to be the first form of worship that many go to, and there will always be a use for it.  This is a good method to serve God, serve the world, and pursue a God-honoring vocation.

                This concert got me thinking and feeling things that I haven't in a while. I've always been the kind of person who is easily affected by music, and has always used music as a form of worship, and a way to find closeness with God. With the last few months being so busy and distracting, I've come to realize that I haven't been listening to as much music. After attending this concert, I spent the remainder of my weekend listening to, researching lyrics, and contemplating meanings behind songs. This sickened me to think that I was so easily distracted by all the menial details of college life that I had discarded one of the most important things to me. This experience had awakened me to jumbled priorities so that I was able to reorganize them to where they belong. It seems to be so easy to be subdued by the daily tasks of life to the point where one can forget the very purpose of a life. Holding on to the things that keep a relationship with God and others close should always be the first on the list of daily agendas.